COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Now that Penn State is officially in the Big Ten, Joe Paterno is like a kid with a new toy.
The recent vote by conference presidents to admit Penn State as an 11th team has given added enthusiasm to an already enthusiastic Paterno. At 62 and starting his 25th year as Nittany Lion head football coach, Paterno has his sights set on a Rose Bowl appearance.
'I want to coach in the Big Ten,' Paterno, who also doubles as Penn State athletic director, said Wednesday. 'I'm going to coach until I'm 70 if the Good Lord keeps me healthy.
'I'm very excited about having the opportunity to coach against some of the schools in the Big Ten and I'd very much like some day to coach in the Rose Bowl. I don't know whether that's possible or not. Obviously it's a long shot. But I'd love very much to have that opportunity.'
Penn State likely will not play a full Big Ten football schedule until the mid-1990s, but could start competing for league titles in other sports sooner.
Paterno said Rene Portland, Penn State's head women's basketball coach, had the best comment he had heard about joining the Big Ten.
'When they asked her how she felt about joining the Big Ten, she said, 'It's like getting a new job without having to move.' That's the way I feel.'
Paterno was in Columbus to help open the new facility of SportsMedicine Grant, run by Dr. Ray Tesner, a linebacker at Penn State under Paterno in the early 1970s.
Paterno, the nation's winningest active coach with 220 victories entering the 1990 season, said he understood the doubts expressed by some Big Ten coaches and athletic directors over Penn State's admittance by a vote of conference presidents.
'I wasn't really surprised,' said Paterno. 'I always try to put myself into the other guy's shoes. I was even kind of second-guessing myself. My reaction (to the doubters) was, it's only natural. I think it's to the Big Ten's credit that the president's hung tough.
'I had no problem with people speaking out, making sure we didn't do something without careful consideration,' he Paterno.
Paterno said one of his regrets over joining a conference is the affect it will have on some long-time Nittany Lion rivalries, including those with Pitt and West Virginia.
'That's one of the concerns a lot of our fans had, too,' said Paterno. 'But again, the world's changing. A Penn State-Ohio State game in 10 years could be a lot bigger than a Pitt-Penn State game. A Penn State-Michigan game could be much bigger than a Penn State-West Virginia game.'
Paterno said he realizes the Penn State move might cause problems for other eastern independents.
'I think some people are disappointed that we left,' said Paterno. 'I think it's going to create some hardships until they can readjust to certain alignments they have to make. We don't particularly want to hurt them, but it was a time for us to move on.'
Syracuse, another long-time Penn State football rival, will leave the Nittany Lion schedule after this season.
Paterno tried to establish an Eastern all-sports conference, but was unable to muster support from other schools, including Syracuse.
'Syracuse was one of the culprits as far as I'm concerned,' he said. 'They were hard-nosed about the Big East basketball and enticed Pitt to go into the Big East basketball.
'Our guy (Bruce) Parkhill has done a magnificent job,' said Paterno. 'We're a better basketball team than a lot people in the Big Ten think.'
